Vijaya Mehta’s debut is a TV film based on the
legendary Marathi autobiography of Laxmibai
Tilak (1868-1936), a major social reform text
evoking the life of her husband, the
philosopher Narayan V. Tilak (Mankani and, as
an older man, Sudhir Joshi). The film covers 20
years of her life, from her marriage to her
conversion to her husband’s religion,
Christianity. It also tells of her childhood, the
loss of her two children, her self-education and
her husband’s conversion in Ahmednagar
while she spent another five years in the same
town rigidly adhering to her Hindu beliefs. The
predominantly theatrical actors contribute to a
theatrical film. The main character is played by
three different actors: for the childhood scenes,
Patil takes the role; as a young woman she is
played by Suhas Joshi and as an old woman by
Mehta herself.